RECENT ACTIVITIES

Laurie Stuart playing singing and playing her Reverie Harp before the service

We were fortunate to have with us, once again, Rev. Bruce Bode from the Quimper UU Fellowship, our mentoringcongregation. Before the service even began, we enjoyed some music and song by Laurie Stuart, shown at the left. She in the intern minister at Quimper.

This was our Ingathering Water Ceremony to celebrate the beginning of a new church year. We each brought a small cup of water from a place cherished in our hearts, poured this water into a common bowl and left a card describing what the water meant to us. You can listen to Susan Dearth's remarks below.

Rev. Bode's sermon was "Religion, Its Ministries, & the Role of the Minister." He described religion from very narrow to very broad perspectives, the different ministries in a church, and the role of the minister to be a "jack of all trades" to service each of these ministries. You can read his sermon here, or listen to it below.

Share DeWees chaired a group that spoke to us about "Diversity in a Welcoming Community," asking us "Do We Walk the Talk." Sue Redkey explained the Welcoming Congregation Program to us, emphasizing that we must take specific steps to qualify. Teri Wolf, a member of Tacoma UU Congregation, sang a special song she had written, "Another Chance." Sue Redkey and Kathy Knowles then focussed on whether we walk the talk, and Share finished with overall comments about the program. Overall, it was an excellent kickoff to our Welcoming Community Program.

We showed a film, "Teachings of the Tree People," which showed the works of Gerald Bruce Miller (1944-2005). He was a nationally acclaimed artist and Skokomish tribal leader on the Hood Canal who interpreted the sacred teachings of the natural world to anyone who wanted to learn. This gentle and generous film is the parting gift of a great teacher, writer and orator.

"Bruce" showed us how he made woven mats from cedar bark and how plants provide us with many medicines. Unfortunately, these skills, learned over generations, are rapidly disappearing in our modern world.

Kathy Knowles taught us the history of the UU Chalice, how it came about, what it means, and how the design was created. As a new UU, she became enchanted by the Chalice and dug into its history. A lively discussion followed. A key point is that for most UUs, the Chalice is an icon and a great source of inspiration. You can listen to both her presentation and the discussion below.

Instead of a normal Sunday service, we enjoyed a picnic at Kathy Knowles' house in Olalla. Attendance was very good, as was the food and the socializing. The weather started out cloudy and cool, but the sun came out and warmed us all. The photos below tell the story.

Rev. Bruce Bode of the Quimper UUF, our mentor congregation, visited us once again, this tiome to give us a "New UU Orientation" for new members and for older UUs as well. He began by reviewing "The Appeal of the Unitarian Universalist Approach in Religion," a document he had sent us as homework. Of the eight reasons for becoming a UU, many of us found we fit several. You can see the document here.

Rev.Bode then asked each of us to describe ourselves and how we became UUs. He did this so we could get to know each other better in order to build our community. It took a full hour for all to participate, but the effort was very worthwhile, as we learned a great deal about each other and the attraction to UUism. You can listen to the entire hour below in three sections.

Rev. Bruce A. Bode

Our Saturday morning group

Ellie Klauminzer reviewed the history of UUism in ten minutes. You can listen to her below and to the left.

Finally, Rev. Bode acknowledged that that we had run out of time and that he had tried to fit six hours of orientation into two hours without success. He promised to return to continue the process.